Living & Arts

Speaking to mental health

In print | April 23, 2009

Throughout the school year, the organization Speak 2 Swatties has been mounting popularity and awareness. Co-directed by Megan Jeffreys ’10 and Melissa Cruz ’10, the mental health group seeks both to raise awareness about mental health concerns on campus and to provide a peer counseling service to students whose wellness concerns need to be addressed.

In its efforts to bring mental health into the limelight of public concern, Speak 2 Swatties solicits opinions on widespread psychological ailments throughout the Swarthmore student body. ”We simply listen to what concerns students are expressing with issues pertaining to mental health,” Cruz said regarding the process of unearthing psychological concerns in an environment where addressing such issues remains somewhat taboo. Jeffreys said, “I think a lot of what we’ve done this semester is going broad to narrow in terms of the focus of our events. At first, we held a lot of discussions about general mental health; now, we’re working on specific issues.” While Speak 2 Swatties addresses many clinically diagnosable disorders — recently, the organization has held panels and discussions on anorexia and other eating disorders — what makes the group unique is its ability to illuminate less obvious and, in turn, more widespread and equally destructive trends of unhealthy psychological activity.

Unsurprisingly, Speak 2 Swatties has targeted the oppressive atmosphere of general negative thinking on Swarthmore’s campus. Students have so embraced a generally pessimistic perspective that they even leverage their “in the slumps” mentality for humor. Perhaps, Speak 2 Swatties suggests, this is not so comical as it is simply unhealthy.

In effort to address this dependency on despair, Speak 2 Swatties is holding a “Gratitude Week” to commence this coming Monday. Jeffreys said, “What makes it difficult to develop a healthy attitude in Swarthmore is its culture of misery. We’re trying to target and change this.” The week is preceded by a workshop this Thursday, run by Tamar Chansky ’84, titled “Freeing Ourselves from Negative Thinking.” Negative thinking, the press release reads, “supersizes our problems by exaggerating their importance and impact. Dr. Chansky … identifies creative and effective solutions to ‘right-size’ problems, manage negative thoughts, build optimism and establish emotional resilience.” The week itself will consist of several discussions and activities, including a movement to leave positive and inspiring notes for individual students. The group invites everyone, on the Sunday night preceding the festivities, to participate in a campus chalking to promote what Jeffreys called the “positive psychology movement.”

Additionally, Speak 2 Swatties has started Swarthmore’s first peer-counseling service. Continuing its trend of addressing all mental wellness concerns as opposed to exclusively diagnosable maladies, the service is available to anyone for any reason. Unlike in a formal psychiatric practice, peer counselors are not trained in clinical psychology and do not dictate a course of action, but simply listen. Cruz said, “We’re not there to offer advice, and we’re not therapists. We’re just there to offer support and to be non-biased listeners.” Jeffreys added, “We’re providing an experience that is especially reflective and focused on you.” This theory is evidenced in the counselor selection process. Jeffreys said, “We don’t look for specific qualifications; instead, we do a mock counseling session.” Cruz said, “We’re looking for someone who will be there in the moment, present with you, willing to make it completely about your time.”

Peer counciling offers a service distinct from those provided by a school administration. Silbia Han ’12, a potential candidate for a peer counseling position next fall, said, “When it comes to peer counseling, you’re able to relate more to what the student is going through because you’re both in the same atmosphere. It also feels more natural and comfortable to speak to someone your own age because, despite what school services say about confidentiality, you’re always conscious of their ties to the administration.”

Speak 2 Swatties is currently in the process of selecting new counselors in the fall. “We’re continually focused on trying to produce an ongoing dialogue,” Cruz said, urging anybody interested in participating in Speak 2 Swatties in any form to contact either herself or Megan Jeffreys.
Disclosure note: Silbia Han is a photo editor for The Phoenix, but had no role in the production of this article.